Ontheminute.com: Barcelona lose first game of season, Manchester Unitedís lead cut

Barcelona lose first game of season, Manchester Unitedís lead cut

Published: 25.01.13 / Written by: David Gold

Barcelona lost 3-2 at Real Sociedad on Saturday night as the Catalans were beaten for the first time in La Liga this season.

Gerard Pique was sent off in the second half as the league leaders gave up a 2-0 lead. Atletico Madrid beat Levante 2-0 to close the gap at the top to eight points, with Real Madrid also winning, after they crushed Valencia 5-0 at the Mestalla. Malaga were held 1-1 by Celta Vigo, and Osasuna beat Deportivo la Coruna 2-1. Granada claimed a 2-0 win over Rayo Vallecano, whilst Espanyol beat Real Mallorca 3-2.

Manchester United conceded a dramatic equaliser to draw 1-1 at Tottenham, a result which saw their lead in the Premier League cut to five points after Manchester City beat Fulham 2-0. Chelsea won a controversial London derby 2-1 against Arsenal, and Liverpool thrashed Norwich 5-0. Swansea beat Stoke 3-1.

In Italy Juventus were back to winning ways as they crushed Udinese 4-0 at home, meaning they extend their lead once again over the chasing pack. Both Napoli and Lazio were held, 1-1 and 2-2 respectively by Fiorentina and Palermo. AC Milan beat Bologna 2-1, whilst the big game of the weekend saw Inter Milan hold Roma to a 1-1 draw.

It was all change again at the top of the French league, as Paris St Germain went back to the summit with a 1-0 win at Girondins de Bordeaux. Olympique Lyonnais, the previous leaders, were held 0-0 at home by Evian, with Marseille beating Montpellier 3-2 to stay in touch at the top. Rennes beat Bastia 2-0 and St Etienne won 1-0 at Brest. Nice stunned Lille 2-0 and Toulouse beat Nancy 2-1.

The Bundesliga returned with a bang as champions Borussia Dortmund thrashed Werder Bremen 5-0 to underline their intent to retain the title. Bayern Munich beat Greuther Furth 2-0 to keep their strong hold on the title race. Schalke won 5-4 against Hannover, Wolfsburg beat Stuttgart 2-0, Bayer Leverkusen won 3-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt and Hoffenheim drew 0-0 with Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Panathinaikosí miserable form in Greece continues, as they were held 1-1 at home by Panthrakikos, whilst Olympiakos look set to win the league as they won yet again, 2-0 against PAS Giannena.

Twente went top in the Netherlands despite a 0-0 draw at home to Waalwijk, as PSV were shocked 3-1 at home by Zwolle. Champions Ajax beat rivals Feyenoord 3-0, and Vitesse remain fifth despite a 4-1 loss at AZ. In Portugal Porto beat Pacos de Ferreira 2-0 to move level at the top Benfica, who have a game on Monday against Morereinse. Both sides are still unbeaten this season.

In Turkey Galatasaray lost 2-1 at Kasimpasa, as they failed to take advantage of Besiktas dropping two points in a 2-2 draw at home to Buyuksehir. The two Istanbul giants are separated by two points and meet this weekend. Third placed Antalyaspor also lost, 5-3 at home to Genclerbirligi. Fenerbahce also drew, 2-2 at home to Elazigspor, whilst the fourth major Istanbul side, Trabzonspor, remarkably also failed to win on a strange weekend as they were beaten 3-1 by Karabukspor.